AllMovie

Famous for his admiration of the simple and uncomplicated lives and attitudes of rural people, director Vasily Shukshin has adapted three of his published short stories and gathered them in this filmic anthology. The first episode, "Brother," is based on his story "Strange People." Visiting his brother in Yalta, the hero of the story is taken around to see places sacred to the memory of the playwright Anton Chekhov. At the same time, his brother nags him to marry a woman with her own apartment. In the second story, "The Tragic Shot," based on "A Thousand Pardons M'am," Bronka, a tall-tale-teller and hunting guide, spins a yarn about his secret mission during World War II as one of the men sent to assassinate Hitler. In the final tale, "Thoughts," based on Shukshin's story with the same title, a man living in the countryside recollects incidents from his entire life.